Instructions for a Heated Mattress Pad

Warm your nights with an electric mattress pad.

Heated mattress pads are convenient for warming a bed before crawling in between the sheets, and keeping the bed toasty warm throughout the night. Good Housekeeping product testers determined the energy cost of using a heated pad at seven cents per night or less. Controller options include a preheat setting, a sleep timer to automatically shut off the electric mattress pad after a certain number of hours and dual controls for different temperature settings on either side of the bed. Nights are warmer with a mattress pad that can plug in for electric heat.

Instructions

1. Cover the mattress with an electric mattress pad made for the bed size, for example, a queen mattress pad for a queen-size bed. Place the connector port at the foot of the bed. Plug the connector cord from the controller, or controllers into the port.

2. Place the connection cord, or cords on the floor under the bed without any weight on top of them. Keep the cords from bending, folding or being pinched. Plug in the power cord.

3. Put the controllers on their corresponding sides for heated mattress pads with dual controls. At least one controller will be marked to indicate which side it controls.

4. Select the preheat setting on so equipped controllers. Press the power button to turn the electric mattress pad on, then push the button marked "Preheat." The preheat feature works to warm the bed for a set period of time, such as 20 or 30 minutes. Get into the bed within the determined time to benefit from this feature.

5. Choose an appropriate temperature for sleeping. Turn the dial labeled with numbers or high, medium and low settings to experiment with the available heat settings. Use trial and error to discover the best setting for your personal comfort. A mattress pad with automatic shut-off will stop heating after the allowed operating time of eight to 10 hours.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not use on waterbeds or folding mattress supports of any kind.

• Do not use heated bedding products for infants, children, diabetics, anyone who is incapacitated or immobile including paraplegics and quadriplegics, or anyone unable to sense heat due to poor circulation or nerve damage.

• Do not allow the cords to get pinched between the mattress and box spring. Replace any cord that becomes damaged immediately.

• Do not leave controllers anywhere they may get dampened or wet such as near open windows or bathrooms.

• Do not use other heated bedding with an electric mattress pad such as electric blankets or throws.

References

• Sunbeam:heated product user manuals
• Good Housekeeping: Heated mattress pads tested